Advertising-sign display equipment for passenger cars



Det. 16 1923.` I J. C. SOENKSEN ADvEETIsING SIGN DISPLAY EQUIPMENT Eon PASSENGER cARs Filed Sept. 29 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct, 16, i923.` '1,471,216

J. C. SOENKSEN ADVERTISING SIGN DISPLAY EQUIPMENT FOR PASSENGER CARS Filed Sept. 29 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 16 1923.

J. c. soENKsEN ADVRTSINQSIGNVDISFLAY lEQUIPMENT FOR PASSENGER CARS Filed Sept. 29 1921 4 ShQets-Sheet 5 Inxl'em owewm Ww QM WM am ms (nfl/1114111111011 www oct. 16,1923.

J. C. SOENKSEN ADVERTISING SIGN DISPLAY EQUIPMENT FOR PASSENGER GARS Filed Sept. 29

1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FBFHW m wm h To all whom t may concern v 'Y passies' oei. is, i923.

iiNiTasa-MES ries .iaiiiiis e. -so'nivisnin oF-1 annoiare, iLLINois.-

.ADVERTISING-.sien nisPLAY'iieUirivinNm nonrnssni'venn dans.

, Application sied september' ze', 1921.5 seriaif Naseem.

(Be it known that I, JAMES y a' citizen; of theUnited States, residing at Aurora, in the county of Kane and VState of Illinois, have invented certain new and use- Y ful Improvements in Advertising-Sign Dis-f play Equipments vfor Passenger l, Cars, of- Y which'tlie following is .afspecifi'cation My invention relates to advertising-sign display equipment'for passenger cars and'.

provides means whereby the 'advertising signs that ordinarily are held in stationary racks are caused to travel along the "car, thus to 1enableall the signs` to beread'by a maximum. number of passengers.k rIhe signs' are connected'with an endlessjcoii-l veyor running Ain a display course andf'doubling back on'a return course, so that approximately halof the signs are displayedv at all'times and thus,while fonly the usual number of signsare in viewk at any" oneL time,Y the sign-accoiiimodating capacity 'of the car may be nearly doubled. I

Among the objects 'of my invention are to provide simple, inexpensive and `elicotively working mechanisms, Veasy to manufacture yand install, and. not liable tovg'etv In they drawingsY wherein I haveillus#i trated a single yembodiment of myinve'ntioii for purposesot' disclosure, Fig. 1- isa tragment-ary sectional view, lengthwise ofthe car, equipped with the display mechanism in accordance with ymy invention; Figs. 2, 3V

and L are details of casing construction,

` Fig. 5 is a cross-section on line'V-b of Fig.

l; Fig. 6 is a vertical section ,on linerG-G,V ot Fig.- l; Fig. 7 is a detail of` a sign holder;

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section, withV parts broken away, on line S-f-S of Fig.` l; Fig.- 9 is a similar view showing thetransfer parts in another position ;V Fig. lO'is a detail ofthe switch mechanism seen in' Figs. and 9 y of Fig. l; Fig. 12 is a section on line 12-12 of Fig. ll, and Fig. 13 is a section ,on line 12B-13 of Fig. 5. p Y Y Since street car signs are usually placed in the curved bays ot the car above the`win dows, I show my mechanism, in j detail, adapted for just such installation in a Fig.` 11. a section on line Il-ll y ,i Y ,ciirvedsign-bay, fther'space"requirementk C. So'niriisnir,

for my'device'beingA substantially the same in lengthV and width as ythat Jfor the com-` l monly-.used stationary cardfracln but vicebeingdeep'er than a rack. f n *In generaljIprovideV an openaced casing 20 shaped to kitfinthefcurved bayr of the car and affording guidance,`as bythe yfront and rear guides or trackfways 21V-21', 22-22 (see Fig.'5) atk its topand bottom,

forthe display course and the return course,

respecti-v`-ely,` of the sign-frames 23. TheseV frames' are kconveyed in endless circuitby ai' `flexible conveyor, suchas the chaiii`24 ruii` on horizontally disposed sprockets 25y ning andQ, the formerbeing driven in any suitable `fashion, as rfrom the car'axle 26 through suitable connecting mechanism 27,

constitute what- Iterm the traveling system-.K I :While guidedin thesaid tra'ckwaysthe signs, run in parallelism wit-lithe casingY axis, but at each end, where the 7conveyor passes around' asprocket, Vthe traclwaysj 4terminate and the sign `frames have to^be transferred rombne trackway to the other.

The l., sig`n`-frames, conveyor, andtheir connections Thereforaadjacent each end of kthe chainflight I provide a .transfer station equipped with mechanism lgoverningthe transferot the sign-frames from onetrackwayto thek other; one such transferv vmechanism receivingeach vsign-trame as it arrives atits terminus of,display-coursetravel, and governing its transferto the return trackwayVwhile the other transfer f mechanism rvcorrespond;

inglyreceives 'each sign trame las it completes its travelo-t the return vcourse and cOiitrolsv itsftraiis'fer to the, display track. These transfer mechanisms Iy so` arrangefthat they are operatedautomatically from parts 'of-the; traveling' System; f f `'Io describe in detail ythe specific.-travelling.v

system shown, each-sign '30 isfsprung into a raine23 that, asshovvn in Fig. ,may havelower and upper-grooved rails 3l, 31', lipped,

ino,k

end pieces 32, andnbackingfstrips, these l parts being shaped suitablytohold 'the card f in `Vthe.curved i condition corresponding with f,

the curvature .of tlipe car-bay.l Each otthes'ev sign-,frames has inf,-its`bottom raila single central recess' 34 l(see Fig. rlpivotally ,en-v

gaged by a pin 36 projecting romthe chain Q4* the pin'y being preferably an elongatedpint/le of thechain. lObviously the chain performsonly a tractive function klkvwith re-4 spect to the frames, guidance of the frames being afforded by. the' ways2l`f, 2l, and 22,

` 22', buttheipins 36 may conveniently be mechanisms; but thel blocks are traekless-y utilized, as an actuating part carried by the" chain to control the transfer ,devices'to be'- described. The trackways `are formed in y* f wooden foot andi-headblocks? and 38Arewhere they extend; overthe transfer-stations.

' Cnvenently e partition; Plata. er plates, 39

co-cxtensive withVA the .foot andheadk blocks is sprung betweenthem, assisting in holding theinfin place and dividingthe casing, into a forward or display compartment andv a rear or return compartment (see Fig. 5)'.but is-V notv essential. i

s igii-framegufdance andthefoot block 37.

is countergrooyed below the trackways, as

- and may be gear54 that is plates 41, 42at the bottom,

Y j ack-shaft 52 the ythe car.

at 44Q, to accom mediate.theA Chain. the transferV stations where these blocks lare cut away, in whole oriny part, to give space lfor plates the.k top are'V connected with the walls ofthe casingin any suitable fashion, andvwear plate 43' may.y protectsuitable partsfof the wood: surface 37 (see Fig.V l2). Of course thisfsortfof simple proyision'for support of the transferemechanisms may be substan# the casing.

tially the same kat both ends' of widely varied in structural detail. Y i j "One of the sprockets, (see is mounted for chain-tightening movement, it being disposed on a bracket 44 entending through an aperture 45 in the bottom of the casing, andy engaged by an adjusting bracket 44 mayfslideflThe other, or driving,

sprocket 25 is mountedeon'shaft 49 that also carries a-worm gear V meshing with the yworin 5l carriedby a suitably supported latter havingv a gear 53` mounted near its end Gear 53 meshes with j ournaled in. abra'cket 5.5 pivotallyl suspended on the `jack shaft 52, the spindle'54 ofv gear 54 hating a, squared' end forengagement withV a. detachable couplin forming a terminal offa flexible shaft 57 that, as part ofY tl'ige driving connection 27,

v`is operatively connected, with the wormgear fdriven vby a worin 59 onthe axle 26 of course as the "carmoves forward the cro-nnectioin,indicated -in general by'27,

drives* the chain -aeeordng-ly, and the chain,

- through itspin engagement .with the sign franiesg'rriustioarrythent'around. the chaincrm-unt.l e Y t thenl as the the transfer inechani'sms'thifn' metal bearing! and' bearing `(distinguished bya prime mark) at `mounted on suitable Considering now the transfer mechanisms,

it will? be understood thatl these Aare'substantially alike at the two stations and that either mechanism is ycapable of transferring from` rear track to front track or from front track to rear track, accordingly as the chain `is ydriven infone direction or the other (as by the runningof the 4car forwardly or backwardly).v The mechanisms are arranged ,and timed, however, so that with the chain running in a Vdirection as indicated by ar-` rows rin, Fig. l the left-endfmechanism al- Ways transfers from thel rear trackway to the front vand the other transfersfrom the frontto `the rear trackway. Each transfer mechanism 4includes an open-ended carrier 60 that consists of confrontingly-'channeled bottom andtop rails 61, 61 so mounted. and connected that'the only permitted ymovement of the l'carrier is onefma-intaining its two rails subStantial-ly pt uallelismy with the AS a S'eiiffreme approaches" trackways. transfer' position its end enters a'carrier; conveyerpin swings around the sprocket, the transfercarrier holds the signframe, Ynow vfree from track-guidance, in parallely relation to the casing axis and steers! the sign-frame into alignment vWith the other trackway, to be drawn into such trackway by the chain.

,Speciiicallm each rail has near its tWo ends a pair of pins 63, 6 4 engaging respectively a slot 65 in vlever 66 and' apinv hole in lever 6 7, these levers being mounted on pivots 68 and 69, borne by plate 41, and at their meeting or shorterends making disc-and-slot en e gagement, as at 70. Thus, one end ofthe rail cannot be' moved without coincident movement of the other end of the rail. Likewise to insure that the top and bottom rails shall move in unison at all times, vertical levers l71' and 72 (Fig. 6) are provided to connect them, these l being pivots between bearing plates T8 and the ends of casing 20', such levers making disc and slot Vconnection'asat 74, with each other, and the extremity of each said leverhaving a fork the appropriate bottom or top rail as shown. lt'will be understood for insuring a redetermined, unison movenicnt of the rais of the carrier, readily responsive to actuation( j Eachof the lower transfer rails has an end fork v77 disposed just over Ythe lower chain where it passes around its sprocket, this forkbeing arranged to cooperate with any sign-frame-carrying pintle 36 0n,- the. chain, as a convenient partofthe traveling system to govern the operation ofthe carne? ,Y lies bejweven the andthe sign to engage that these several sets of leyer'conections forni one desirable means substantially When receiving the pin y36, the' fork fra-me,

Now it will be apparent that, viewing Fig.v 9 and assuming Vthe chain to be traveling in the direction of the arrow, an extensionpintle 36, standing at the point kwill be presentingto the open edge of the carrier a sign frame 23 that is long enough to reach substantially the pointmarked y.' As the.

`chain progresses this sign frame 23 is propelled into the rail-channels `of the carrier until 'its forward end reachespractically .the remoteextremity of'said rails. At this time pintle 36 aforesaid enters the notch of the."

fork 77 and at thesame time` begins toturn around thesprocket wheel.'V As it rog'resses, said pin carries the fork T7 towar s the rear of the-casing, and (aided by the engagement of the signv frame with the carrier) the several lever-sets heretofore described cause both rails tobe moved rearwardly, equally,

and always inparallelrelation to the. axis of the casing, until the rails arrive at the transfer position shown in F ig. 8,' aligning with the return trackway 22-22.` Consequently as the pin 36 nowy moves outof the. fork (a slight return/movement is indicated to have taken place in. Fig. 8) the sign-` frame starts its travel Valong the rearward guideway or return course. It willbe apparent that up to the time that it startson its return course the sign is fully displayed,

and it-will not be entirely overlapped and hidden by the next succeeding sign until the pin' 3G has moved to the position marked` e (FigS). The sign-frame newly introduced yinto-the return course will, however, disengage itself from the channel-rails "of Ythe transfer carrier before'the'carrying-piu 36 reaches point e, its disengagement from such channel occurring when the pin Shas reached Vapproximately the point a ln short, because the carrier railsaresomewhat kless than half as long as 'a sign Vframe,.one sign frame leaves'thetransfer rcarrier a niaterial time before the next on-coming`sign` frame is ready tofengage. the carrier;

The tranfer mechanism as thus far described is supipa-lemented-r with means forfrestoring the transfer carrier to its initial position during the idle time-when the carrierl fer carrier.V and said, snap-over switch hav# ing operative :connectionwith the transfer carrier 'to shiftpthe latter from transfer position back to receiving position.A Specifically, 8O 4is a switch-disc withtwo project-1 ing forks Y8l. this disc pivoted asI at'82 be-f tween the courses of the chain approximate-f This l accomplish, in Vthe specific lyopposite the point z {Figi} wheretwo sign-frames, respectively approaching and 'receding fromtransfer position, will bein register, so that its forks may cooperate with two pintles 36 simultaneously.` This disc has a crank pin88 connected by linky 84k withv va crank arm 84 that projects from a suit- Y able lever 66 of the'lever-system'appurtenant y' to the bottom transfer rail.- Manifestly as f Y the discis swung from the position shown in thefleversystem of the carrier to shiftl the f i' transfer-carrier rails accordingly. To` give the disc a desirable snap actionl provide a snap-overspring 85 1n a tubular socket 8G pivotedA as at 87, the spring surrounding and f bearing-against a socket-guided stem S8 that l has 4its headpivotally connected with the f crank vpin 89 on the disc. f Tt Will be understoodthat .the .snap-over switch would work practicallyv as well with' only one forky 81,

but theduplication lightens 'the work on i the fork and decreases liability to breakage; The containingv casing 20 takes any form requisite to fit in the portionv of the car althe mechanism described, leaving only the display opening'uncovered. It is most con- `lotted tothe display, and'tof-investentirely veniently made `of sheet metal, and Lto facilitate introduction and removal of signs itV 'i may bepmad'e with part of its top/and front lip cut away, and ysupplied* with a detachable cover portion of substantially a sign length,

the cover being located, preferably, at the end adjacent the driving lgearing vfor the chain. This removable cover,indicated generally at 20 in Fig. lhas one end provided with a tongue 90 (Figi 2v) to engage a slot 91 in the'rbody'of the casing,l andfpat its yother end has al latch-piece 92 having astem slidable with respect to a slot 93 so that the 'latch may engage ordisengage-a receptive edge 94 of thecasingtop and be' secured in y retaining positionby a wing nut 95. When changing signs the attendant disconnects the slip-coupling 5,6 in the driving train,-swings thebracket-carried gear 54 to such position thathecan engage a wrench with its spindle `54 andgwork'the conveyor chain by hand. kAfter removing the cover member f 20 he can rbring each frameforward tothe transfer position most readily to changethe sign displayed therein B In brief rsum of the operationof the device, a car-aXle-driven train 27v cornrnuicates.

motionto the drive sprocket 25Q(Fig. 6l for the conveyor cha-in' that runs in' endless course along the front and .back of the casking-from one transferstation to the other.` This chaingthrough' its extended -pintles 36 ti* moves the-sign-carrying frames `along their trackways'that extend between the traokless transfer stations, only ythe signs progressing along the forward guidewav being 'dis-A played, tof course As eachl signframe apr 75 `Fig. 8 to that shown` inl? ig. 9 it will actuate f 'f tom channeled rails 61,61 of the transfer frame 60so that when a sign transfer oc- Cursvnearly half of the sign frame is in the embrace ofthetransfer carrier. To effect the transfer, the pintle 36 rappartenant to Vthe sign-frame in question engages the projecting fork 7,7 ofthe lcvvcr rail of the trans 'fern frame, and the pintle swings :f .round sprocketv the transfer frame is carried along freni front tchach of the casing, thus lining the transferred sign-n nie up with the return traclrway into which the sig-n arey always maintained insubstantial parallelism with the `,casing axis. The gust .transferred sign frame full-y leaves the transferfcarrier when the extended sien-car# v e rying pintle 36 is 1n approxi ately the posi'- ion indicated at 2 in 1g. 8, at. which time the neXt on-coin-infr sign-,frame has not y Y b b yet come into position .to 4engage the transfer-carrier, its pintle 36 being-y still consider- Y ably yto the left of the peint marked ai in Fig. 9.'

ine si 1n-fraine Y res :ectivel f now-,engage the two forks 8l of the switch mechanism shown in Fig. l0, and as the chain progresses theyl snap `the switch mechanism over, link 84' forcing over the crank Se of the parallellinlr-motion system that connects `the rails of 'the transfer carrier. Thus the transferrails are thrown forward to receptive posi tion in timely season to receive the next oncoming sign-frame. The cycle of operations described is recurrently performed at cach- Ytransfer station, the mechanisms of the two stations Vbeing substantially duplicates.. To

load the frames one detachesfthe cover 20, if'need be, and (if thecar be standing still)` s he disconnects coupling'w56 and, with any suitable tool, turns gearspindle 54` by hand to .bring the sig-n. frames opposite the uncovered opening. l i' 'It ywill be understood by those skill-ed in the art that while I have described in con siderable detail a parti-cular embodiment of' my; invention whichv I reward as advantageousinrespect ofmanv of its? specific fea tures that I may clainLjI do not intendv to limit invention in its broader aspects to the details set forth, as many changes be made within. the spirit of invention I claim Y within the scope of the appended claims.

n 1, In a moving'fsign equipment, a casing" having display and return traclrways and tracl'rless transfery stat-ionsk atl itsends, an

, endless conveyor fol-lowing the; vtraclrways and c crossing the transfer pstationsf,- signs movahleby the conveyor and'guided: by the traelrways, a transfer carrier at; each transdra'svn by thechain. In this the Vtransfer;carrier its rails The two pintfles 86 for; the just-y receiving position.

transferred sign-frame and for the on-conr having display vIlflOvalle by the conveyor and endless conveyor following the traclrways` andi crossing the transfer stations, signs movable'by the conveyor and guided by the trackways, a transfer carrier at each transfer station, and means actuated by the conveyor for moving said carrier into register withf'said two traclrways alternately.

3. 'In a moving-sign equipment, a casing havingl displayv and returntraclrways and traclrless transfer stations at its ends, an

yendless Iconveyor following the traclrways and crossing the transfer stations, signs movablehy the conveyorand guided by the traclrways, a transfer carrier at each trans-1 fer station adapted to receive a sign from one traclrway and move therewith to presentV the sign `to the other traclrway, and means actuated by saidconveyor for positivelyshifting the Vtransfer carrier back to ein a moving sign equipment, a casing and return trackways and traclrless transfer stations at its ends, an endless conveyor following the traclrways and crossing the transfer stations, signs having single-point pivotal connection with and movablel by the conveyor and guided bythe traclrways, a transfer carrier at each transfer station adapted to receive a sign and move therewith to present the sign to Ythe other trackway, and means operated from partsy carriedby the conveyor for automatically restoring the carrier to receivingr position.

5. ln a moving-sign equipment, a casing having display and return traclrways and traclrless transfer stations (at its ends, an endless conveyor following the traclrways and crossing the transfer stations, signs guided by the traclrways, and atransfer carrier at each transfer station adapted to4 receive a sign and move therewithV to present the sign to the other traclrway, and means forv constraining the carrier to move in substan-k tially constant-parallelism with the trac ways. Y c

- In a. moving-sign equipment, a casing vhavin-g display and return tracltways and'v traclrless` transfer stations at its ends, an

endless conveyor following the traclrways and crossing the transfer stations, signs movable by the conveyor and guided by the traclrways` and a transfer carrier at each transfer station adapted to receive a sign and move lthere-with to present the sign to the other traclrwak com rising intercon-` nected. 'lil-Iker` llo 7.` In a moving-sign equipment, an open-y front casing, an endless conveyor thereinl making a circuitwith parallelV front andY Arear courses, sign frames connected *for/ front casing, an endless conveyor therein making a circuit with parallel front and rear courses, sign frames connected for travel with the conveyor, means for holding the frames parallel with the conveyor in travel along its saidcourses, and at each end vof the conveyor-circuit a transfer-carrier disposed to receive the sign-frames approaching along one course, means to constrain the carrier to move with the signinto alignment with the other course, and means to restore the carrier to initial position.

9. In a moving-sign equipment, an openfront casing, an endless conveyor therein making a circuit with parallel front Vand rear courses, sign frames connected for travel with the conveyor,mean's for holding the frames parallel with the conveyor in travel along its said courses, and at each end of the conveyor-circuit a transfer-carrier disposed to Vreceive the sign-frames approaching along one course and automatic means for moving the carrier to transfer each frame successively to the other course.

10. In a moving sign equipment for passenger cars, a casing, front and rear guides therein terminating short of the casing ends,

transfer' carriers beyond the ends of the guides, an endless conveyor paralleling the guides and crossing from one to the other adjacent to the carriers, means for driving said conveyor, sign frames each having a sign in pivotal connection with the conveyor, and conveyor-controlled means for operating each carrier to transfer sign frames successively from one guide to the other.

11. In a moving-sign equipment for passenger cars, a casing having longitudinal `front and .rear trackways and trackless transfer stations at its ends, an endless conveyor following the trackways and crossing the transfer stations, a series of track-guided sign frames each having a central pin.

connection with the conveyor, and at each transfer station a carrier comprising upper and lower rails adapted to receive the end portion of a sign frame and movable in unisfon between positions aligning with the two trackways, means operable during engageifivneie Y ment of a sign frame with kthecarr'ier for .moving the latter in` one direction, and

means operable while thecarrier is disengaged from the sign-frames for moving it in the other, direction. f

.j Y12.111 ka moving-sign equipment for passenger cars, a 4casing having longitudinal front and rear trackways and trackless transfer stations at its ends, an endless conveyor following the trackways and crossing the transfer stations, a'series i of trackguided sign frames each having a central pin-connection with the conveyor, and at each rtransfer `station a carrier comprising upper and lower rails adapted kto receive the end portion of a sign frame and movable in unisonbetween positions aligning with the two trackways, said carrier movable vin one direction with the sign frame, and means Aoperable by a conveyor-carried part for restoring the carrier in the other direction after the sign-framehas disengaged the car- 4Tier.

' 13. In a moving-sign equipment for passenger cars,`a casing having longitudinal front and rear. trackways and trackless transfer stations at its ends', an endless-conveyor following the trackways and crossing the transfer stations, a series of trackguided. sign frames! each having a central pin .connection with the conveyor, and at each transferV station a carrier comprising upper and lower rails adaptedfto receive the end portion of a sign frame and movable in unison betweenl positions aligning with the two trackways, said carrier movable in one direction with the sign frame and means, including a switch operable by a conveyor carried part, and operatively connected with the carrier, for restoring the carrier after the sign-frame has disengaged it.

14. In a moving-sign equipment. of the character described, .the combination of a casing having front and rear trackways terminating short of the casing ends, and having a displaceable portion to give access to the sign-frames for insertion and removal of signs, a conveyor making a circuit paralleling the trackways and crossing over beyond their ends, a series of sign frames connected with the conveyorl and moved in eircuit thereby, driving means for said conveyor including a separable coupling adjacent to the displaeeable portion of the casing 'for the purpose specified.

binatifon of a casing', sin endieSs conveyor -ier movaile with the 'sign from register ldierlein running horizontally over leind with one g-iii-deivy t@ che th'e, and a `Whee1s, guids paralle'ling fh'e straight sWitc-'110pea1b1e`by a, 'oniieyo-criied -pjrt 10 courses 4of the conveyor,- signs engaging the 'operatively conec'td with the ltransfer 5' conveyor running in said guides, 'and fat *car-riet te tu-rn it tos'ignhrecpiv p'sk@zich end of the cfveyor flight transfer. tion. Y Y v mechanism Comp-isi'g n. sigii-iee'pf-ive Car l JAMES lC. SGENKSEN. 

